A Weekend In Cambridge

First stop: Cambridge. It’s a place we regard with affection here at Sahara; our shop in this historic city has been nestled comfortably in St. Mary’s Passage since the year 2000, and in that time we’ve made many friends between its walls.

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Watched over by King’s College Chapel on one side, and Great St. Mary’s Church on the other, our shop becomes our home for the day as we set out to explore the city.

The worlds of Cambridge the city and Cambridge the University exist happily together, side by side on cobbled streets and winding passages. The two have grown up together – the University was founded a thousand lifetimes ago in 1209, and although generations have passed by it is still one of the best and most famous universities in the world.

From the shop, we cross the street to where King’s College Chapel stands, quietly contemplative. We lounge on the neat lawn outside as though it were a carpet, the sun against our cheeks. Completed when Henry VIII was still King, the Chapel has been a constant presence in Cambridge for over five centuries, softly etching itself into the very heart of the city. Gothic and imposing, students at the world-famous University have passed it by, year after year after year. The Choir that sings between its stained glass and stone is known and heard around the world.

Indeed, everything in Cambridge seems to whisper quietly with history. High stone walls meet cobbled roads, worn beneath the feet of centuries. Leisurely cyclists pass us by, taking advantage of the sunshine. The city’s architecture is framed by greenery, trees and hedgerows alongside the Gothic and the Neoclassical, the natural alongside the manmade.

The day rolls forward. We’re told that one of the best views of Cambridge is from the river that intersects the city, and so we hire a punt. Below dappled sunlight and arching bridges, we glide like pond skaters along the glassy waters of the Cam.

The college buildings drift past. Willows trees reach with long fingers to carve ripples into the water. On the banks, tourists take aim with their cameras, the picturesque city rendered perfect by their lenses.

As the sun begins to drop away, we say a fond farewell to Cambridge and head overseas, on our next adventure.